Nikki Haley targeted in second swatting attempt after man falsely says she killed her daughter

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley was targeted by a graphic swatting attempt on New Year's Day, just two days after another fake emergency was reported at the GOP presidential candidate’s home.

The Charleston County Sheriff’s Office responded to Haley’s house in Kiawah Island, South Carolina, after someone allegedly called authorities and said Haley shot her daughter and was threatening to harm herself, Reuters first reported.

Swatting is a term typically used to describe people making fake emergency calls to threaten another person with an intimidating law enforcement response.

A deputy went to Haley’s home and found the call was a hoax. But the incident came after a man on Dec. 30 lied to authorities and said he shot a woman at Haley’s home, prompting a police response.

USA TODAY has reached out to the sheriff’s office and Haley’s campaign for comment.

Haley in an interview with "Meet the Press" on Sunday addressed the first swatting call, saying she was not home at the time, but her parents were in the house. The former South Carolina governor noted that her parents are 87 and 90 years old.

“I will tell you that the last thing you want is to see multiple law enforcement officials with guns drawn, pointing at my parents and thinking that something happened. It is an awful situation,” Haley said.

Haley during the interview said she believed her family and home have been targeted twice, but she did not elaborate on another incident.

The former United Nations ambassador isn’t the first official in recent months to become the victim of a swatting attempt. Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s home was swatted on Christmas Day. And the federal judge and special investigator in former President Donald Trump's D.C. election interference case were also victims of swatting between December and January. 

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Nikki Haley's daughter, SC home targeted in second swatting call